How best to complain to Princess?

[moomoosmom]

I am having some issues with my booking and was talking to customer service today and was quite literally yelled at and spoken to indigently by a "supervisor" and then put on hold and forgotten about. Do you guys have any good links for complaints to Princess? I'd really like to write a letter to their coroporate head office. THis woman was hell on wheels and I want to cancel my cruise because at this point, the damage is done and I am really angry and want the powers that be to know they have staff working for them that are like this.

[Toto2Kansas]

Princess Cruises

(Corporate Headquarters)

24844 Avenue Rockefeller

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

[coiran]

Have you discussed the problem with your TA?

 

Ron

[TNTLAMB]

I hate it when someones bad day has to become mine too. By all means follow up. In the meantime, remember this lady is not going on your cruise with you!!! Don't know the exact nature of your problem or when it is, but if you are thinking of canceling, it must be a ways out. Why not transfer your booking to a good TA? There are several who powst here regularlly who could at least cut through the red tape and best even save you some $$$ while at it.

[Sandytoes]

Tell us what kind of issues you're having.

What made them get to the point of "yelling" at you...?

How many times have to tried calling?

[MercedMike]

I am having some issues with my booking and was talking to customer service today and was quite literally yelled at and spoken to indigently by a "supervisor" and then put on hold and forgotten about.

 

This is your TA's job. My DW the MCC spends half her working hours dealing with this sort of customer non-service. Why would you speak to customer service yourself and thereby gain all the headaches your TA is supposed to take over for you?? Relax and let them earn their commission.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[calikak]

Send a polite but firm letter clearly describing in as much detail as possible exactly what happened. Emphasis on the polite, an angry ranting letter will probably get you ignored. I wouldn't expect any sort of remedy other than a letter of apology, but at least then they'll know that the employee in question is causing problems and maybe they'll take action to correct the situation. Princess seems to take snail mail a lot more seriously than phone calls or e-mails. Toto posted the correct address, I believe.

[Jacqueline]

Princess customer service is bad in a way that is a legend. Even diehards will throw in the towel. yes, I have gotten some ok people on the phone over the years, but my best advice is this-

get a great TA and let them deal with Princess !

[Another ship trip]

and was quite literally yelled at and spoken to indigently by a "supervisor" and then put on hold and forgotten about. .

But when you write to them, tell them she was indignant, not indigent!

[Pam in CA]

I agree with the others that unless your booking is directly with Princess, it's up to your TA to clear up any issues or problems.

 

If you've booked directly through Princess and register a complaint, don't forget the "3 C's": be clear, concise and complete. Include all of the information regarding your problem, what you've done to try to resolve it, and what results you've received so far. Document, document, document.

[moomoosmom]

Its a LONG sorted story but the just is, we are having issues with the travel agent. She isn't forthright with giving us information. I wanted to book a scuba shore excursion (we're going in march but I need to do certification before then so I have a long lead time). I called to book the excursion and was told I needed a booking number. I had not been given a booking nubmer by my agent, so I called princess because the agent is next to impossilbe to get ahold of.

 

This was last friday. When I called, the woman I spoke with at Princess was VERY helpful. She told me that our booking was a mess and straightened out what she could. She said our bookings were not linked and that we were sitting at different tables. She also thought it was odd we were traveling with three small kids and that we had only one confirmed cabin. So she gave me cabin numbers and told me to call my agent give her the cabin numbers and then have her book it. The other thing she said I could do is fax in letter saying we're dumping the agent adn then deal directly with Princess and then she could assign the cabins asap and that I should do this fast as it is filling up fast.

 

So today I finally got ahold of the agent and toldher this. She said that that wasn't right and that I would not get a cabin assignment until I paid in full (we have paid a deposit). I told her that that is NOT what Princess told me. She reluctantly agreed to call them and then called me back to say that she was right and I should call them back.

 

When I called back I got a very nice lady who wasn't quite sure what had happened. She transfered me to someone who would know. This was some Manager who told me that I was wrong and that nobody would have told me that. She told me "please do NOT tell me what you want". HELLO is that not why I called. She quite literally yelled at me. I asked her if they had a corporate Ombudsmun and she put me on hold and never came back. I am SO upset it isn't even funny. All I want is two freaking cabins near each other.

[Pam in CA]

I agree with the first rep you talked to. Run, don't walk, to another TA and fax a letter to Princess to tell them you are changing TAs. Check your booking contract to make sure there isn't a cancellation clause (some agents charge $50 or $75 to cancel/change a booking -- this is not a Princess charge) but at this point, it might be worth the additional fee for your peace of mind. Don't use any TA who doesn't immediately email or send you a complete, detailed booking summary, including booking #.

 

To book excursions, you can go to http://www.princess.com > My Princess. That's the fastest and easiest way to book excursions. You'll also receive a booklet and information on excursions in your pre-cruise packet along with a booking form that you can mail or fax in.

[moomoosmom]

I spoke with another agent and aparently I can not just change agents. I'm in canada and it doesn't work that way here. I can only transfer to self managed through princess.

[Pam in CA]

I spoke with another agent and aparently I can not just change agents. I'm in canada and it doesn't work that way here. I can only transfer to self managed through princess.

That's a bummer. I'd still do that, though, and dump your TA. And, don't be shy about asking questions here! You have many experienced people who have far more experience and knowledge than the Princess reps as a resource. :)

[willysgrandma]

Does your travel agent have a boss at the agency? THAT is who you need to speak to.

[moomoosmom]

Thanks for listening. :)

 

IDH and I would dump the TA in a heart beat but other members of the family don't think its quite as good an idea.

 

So you all think its JUST the customer service that is bad? I'm really worried about it all now even the ship experience. I can't imagine stumbling thorugh the ship at night with a screaming kid trying to find DADDYs cabin. UGH.

[dog]

When is your cruise? Have you paid final payment yet?

 

I also fly out of Toronto and my agent is excellent and I always get an assigned cabin before I commit to any cruise $ being paid.

 

If you are on a "guarantee" cabin you won't find out and could end up in 2 different areas for your cabin/kids.

 

If you are within cancellation without penalty limits I would cancel and find another Travel Agent. Someone isn't being straight with you about things.

 

Also, once I get my Booking Number, I go to the Princess website, log in to the Personalizer and arrange my own changes and tours on line. No need to talk to anyone about excursions. These can be cancelled when you are on the ship if you change your mind. There is a deadline to cancel them or charges will be made. J.

[Sandytoes]

I can now see why you are so frustrated.

To bad you can not simply transfer TA's.

Speak to your TA supervisor. E-mail them a letter if you can.

I hope everything works out. Let us know.

 

It's times like this, that I wish we were allowed to mention TA names here.

Either recommending or disapproving....

It would help all us cruisers out there when booking / dealing with TA's.

Cruise Critic does have guidelines that we must follow...Oh-well.

[rebeccalouise]

I had the same problem with customer service at Princess. Many of the people I spoke with were polite but did not answer or could not answer my questions. When I finally got ahold of a supervisor (Deanna)- things got heated with her. I don't usually lose my cool but she was patronizing and condescending. She told me not to raise my voice and I probably was but was not being hostile- just frustrated.

Customer service is important and because of the way I was treated I cancelled my cruise.

[SailAways]

Thanks for listening. :)

IDH and I would dump the TA in a heart beat but other members of the family don't think its quite as good an idea

So you all think its JUST the customer service that is bad? I'm really worried about it all now even the ship experience. I can't imagine stumbling thorugh the ship at night with a screaming kid trying to find DADDYs cabin. UGH.

 

This seems to be more of a TA problem rather than a Princess problem, from what you have disclosed.

 

There are guidelines which all cruise lines follow when a cruise has been booked with an outside TA.

 

You can change TA's - and regardless of what the rest of the family feels, you are the one doing the leg work apparently, and you need to feel comfortable with your TA.

 

Don't cancel your cruise because of one rude person. They won't be the one to lose out - you will.

[cherylandtk]

You cannot easily transfer a booking to another agent, but you can cancel the first and re-book with a second. Or you can re-book with Princess directly; this would be the same as a self-managed booking. You have two problems here, your current TA seems to be incompetent AND Princess treated you badly. Deal with them one at a time.

 

1. As Pam said, you want to look for several actions by the new agent, one of which is prompt and professional responses. Make sure you get a booking number, and specific room numbers, and be sure to say that you want your booking marked "no upgrade" (so they don't move you away from the kids). Also ask if your payments go directly to Princess or through the TA. Its better if the payments are made directly to Princess. You should have your booking numbers within 24 hours. Most TA's will give it to you over the phone before you hang up. Couple of quick things, with 5 people you must purchase two cabins. Does not sound like your first TA did that, and may not have given you a full and correct price. It also sounds like your first TA may have tried to book a GTY cabin, which means you don't get an assigned cabin number right away. For some folks that is fine, but for families with kids it is not. So make sure your booking is for specific cabins, not guarantees.

 

2. It might help if you realize that Princess policy states that they are not supposed to talk to anyone who has a travel agent much less 'fix' a screwed up booking. The person who helped you 'fix' the booking is going to be in big-time trouble. There was no need for the Supervisor/Manager to be rude, but she has a mess on her hands now with the person who helped you; its not your problem, but from her perspective she cannot believe one of her CSR's did what they did with your booking. Does not justify her reaction or bad behavior, but I bet she still thinks your story is just not true. Go ahead and write the letter and know that both the supervisor and the first CSR will get reprimanded.

 

Good Luck, and come back to let us know how you fare in this.

[cruzzers]

Moomoosmom...Wow, what a mess for you. I would be discouraged too but there are really alot of good travel agents out there that would give you great customer service. It really sounds like your TA didn't do their job and Princess really can't do much until you drop your TA. There are some really good travel agencies that advertise on this site. I would transfer my booking directly to Princess at this point so that you don't loose deposits and find a better TA for any future bookings. You can worry about your excursions after final payment has been made. Really, Princess usually goes out of their way to make customers happy. They may be just as irritated as you with the TA arrangements.

Good luck to you and have a great cruise in spite of all of this.

[bdjam]

I had the same problem with customer service at Princess. Many of the people I spoke with were polite but did not answer or could not answer my questions. When I finally got ahold of a supervisor (Deanna)- things got heated with her. I don't usually lose my cool but she was patronizing and condescending. She told me not to raise my voice and I probably was but was not being hostile- just frustrated.

Customer service is important and because of the way I was treated I cancelled my cruise.

Well I hate to sound like the proverbial cheerleader that I am, but I have never had an issue with Princess’ customer service representatives. In fact I just concluded a transaction with them a couple of weeks ago. It was taken care of courteously, with a bit of humor and I had email verification almost before I hung up the phone.

While I’m not discounting the fact that some call center representatives do a poor job, I’ve also been a call center representative and one of my jobs was to deal with calls escalated from the agents. Some of the attitude and vile language that I experienced on the escalated calls was unbelievable. Did I end up with a tough skin? You bet - it was the only way to protect myself.

I’m not saying that the original poster didn’t have a bad experience. I’m just saying there are two sides to every coin.

[moomoosmom]

YES three of our four cabins at GTY cabins. The fourth is the triple so we HAVE a cabin assignment on that one.

 

Another question for all you too. We are flying out of Toronto on March 10th. IS it worth getting the direct flight guarantee?

 

The thing that makes me bitter is that I HAVE a great travel agent but my in laws wanted to book with this woman because she was cheap. Their english isn't great so I get stuck dealing with it all. Live and learn I suppose.

 

BTW I have worked for more than 20 years in customer service in varying capacities and THIS is the rudest I've ever been treated EVEN when I was on the other side.

[mr green]

I did have problems one time with Princess, so my TA informed Princess that I was A, not happy with them, B, that I had booked with another line [true], but I did have 48 hours before I put up any money, and C, I wished to cancel my upcoming cruise with Princess.

Within 24 hours all my problems had been solved.:) john